Amgen And AstraZeneca Highlight Data To Be Presented At 22nd Congress Of The European Academy Of Dermatology And Venereology

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. and GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) and AstraZeneca (AZN), with its biologics research and development arm MedImmune, today announced the upcoming presentation of several key studies evaluating brodalumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting the interleukin-17 (IL-17) receptor, for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis at the 22^nd Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) in Istanbul, Oct. 2-6, 2013.

"The Phase 2 data demonstrate that the primary and secondary end points were met, including many patients achieving and maintaining total skin clearance with continued brodalumab therapy," said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "We look forward to further investigating brodalumab for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis."

Dr. Bahija Jallal, executive vice president, MedImmune added, "We're very encouraged by these results and the initiation of our Phase 3 program."

In Oct. 2012, the companies announced the start of the Phase 3 program in moderate to severe psoriasis for brodalumab. The program consists of three Phase 3 studies evaluating treatment with brodalumab compared with ustekinumab and/or placebo. 

Abstracts will be presented during the poster session on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013.

Abstracts of Interest Include:

• Maintenance of Clinical Response with Long-Term Brodalumab (AMG 827) Therapy for Psoriasis: Week 96 Results from an Open-Label Extension Study (Poster IST13-0686)
• Difference in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) with Increased Improvements in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and Maintenance of Skin Clearance (Poster 1030)
• Impact of Treatment with Brodalumab on Psoriasis Symptom Severity: Use of a Novel Patient-Reported Outcome Measure, the Psoriasis Symptom Inventory (PSI) (Poster 1640)

About Brodalumab (AMG 827)

Brodalumab is a highly-selective human monoclonal antibody that binds to and blocks signaling via the interleukin-17 (IL-17) receptor. The IL-17 pathway plays an important role in inducing and promoting inflammatory disease processes. Blocking inflammatory signaling at the IL-17 receptor may be beneficial in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and potentially other immune-mediated diseases.

About Amgen

Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.

Amgen focuses on areas of high unmet medical need and leverages its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be the world's largest independent biotechnology company, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential.

For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune, oncology, infection and neuroscience diseases. AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. For more information please visit: www.astrazeneca.com.

About MedImmune

MedImmune is the worldwide biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.  MedImmune is pioneering innovative research and exploring novel pathways across key therapeutic areas, including respiratory, inflammation and autoimmunity; cardiovascular and metabolic disease; oncology; neuroscience; and infection and vaccines.  The MedImmune headquarters is located in Gaithersburg, Md., one of AstraZeneca's three global R&D centers.  For more information, please visit www.medimmune.com. 

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CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks
Ashleigh Koss, 805-313-6151 (media)
Arvind Sood, 805-447-1060 (investors)

CONTACT: MedImmune / AstraZeneca
Tracy Rossin, 301-398-1468 (media)
Karl Hard, +44 20 7604 812 (investors)
Colleen Proctor, 302-886-1842 (investors)

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SOURCE Amgen